Pea breeding programmes in the Czech Republic.

In 2010 the Czech acreage cultivated with grain legumes was 31318 ha. The most important grain legumes were peas, followed by soybeans, lupins and faba bean. While peas showed a dramatic decrease in acreage over recent years soybeans signifi cantly increased in their acreage. An important share of the Czech pea production is exported, either as feed or as seed. Breeding of peas has a long history in the Czech Republic. Today three companies are engaged in pea breeding, i.e. Semo s.r.o., Selgen a.s. and Agritec Ltd. Breeding activities of the three companies are outlined.